Wireless communication devices continue to evolve to provide users with higher data throughput based on newer generation wireless communication protocols using various radio access technologies, and to provide users with increased functionality integrating various features in a multi-capable device. A wireless communication device can include support for a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless communication protocol, e.g. LTE Releases 8 and 9, current LTE-Advanced (also referred to as LTE-A) Releases 10 and 11, and future LTE-Advanced (also referred to as LTE-B) Releases 12 and beyond. High data throughput and advanced functionality (e.g., high density display screens) can place greater demands on limited battery resources available in the wireless communication device. Power consumption of the wireless communication device can be monitored and regulated to ensure an extended battery life under various operating conditions. Transmission circuitry in wireless communication devices can consume significant amounts of power, particularly when transmitting at high transmit power levels to achieve high data rates and/or to overcome high levels of interference and/or noise that can impact the performance of signal decoding at a receiving wireless access network system, e.g., a base station or an eNodeB of an LTE wireless network.
Transmit power levels for a wireless communication device can be controlled at least in part by signaling messages received from a wireless access network system to which the wireless communication device is connected. The wireless access network system can determine uplink transmit power control commands to ensure that signals received at the wireless access network system can be decoded properly and also to minimize interference of transmissions by the wireless communication device into other wireless communication devices in the same cell or in neighbor cells. The transmit power levels required for uplink transmissions can depend on a target data rate and on radio frequency channel conditions at the wireless access network system to which the wireless communication device communicates. When operating in a shared bandwidth wireless system, e.g., an LTE wireless access network, the wireless communication device can be allocated radio frequency resources during which to transmit in the uplink direction. The wireless communication device can request resource allocations by communicating various signaling messages that can provide information about uplink transmission requirements to the wireless access network, e.g., buffer status reports that can indicate amounts of data pending transmission in the uplink direction. Transmitting at lower data rates, e.g., by requesting fewer radio resources, can provide only limited transmit power savings, as the wireless access network can choose a radio resource allocation for the wireless communication device that requires continuous (or nearly continuous) transmission by the wireless communication device at a lower but steady data rate. Thus, transmit power control management for transmission circuitry in wireless communication devices can be improved upon.